Maria Babi is an ESL teacher and Special Educator. She has studied English Literature and Language in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She also holds a Master’s degree in Special Education Needs from John Moores Liverpool University, England. She has been working as an ESL teacher and Special Educator for ten years and as a Shadow Teacher at ACS Athens for three years. She is also an examiner of Michigan State University English Language Examination. She has attended many seminars and conferences and she recently took the online course of ‘Character Education in the 21st century’ from the University of California San Diego. She is a compassionate teacher who remains sensitive to children’s unique needs, provides individual and group support and offers positive encouragement and reinforcement. Her goal is to foster and maintain an open, communicative, and supportive environment where each student feels comfortable and challenged. She has taught diverse groups of students (ages 6-15) with learning difficulties and her skills in differentiated instruction, use of technology, and multi-sensory lesson plans allow her to meet the needs of every student and keep them engaged.

Philip Bowman is in his ninth year at International School Bangkok and has been a learning support teacher for over thirteen years. His career in special education began shortly after being diagnosed as an adult with ADHD. Drawing on his personal experiences with ADHD and varied background in science, research, liberal arts, special education, motivation, mindfulness, and video games, he has created an empathetic and playful approach to learning support that focuses on sustainable results through personalized learning. Philip believes that, in addition to in-class support, all students with exceptionalities should have access to effective learning support classes that target overall learning and life-long success. He recently founded the MARIO Framework to help further this mission by providing a shared space for learning support teachers to build and/or improve their own ideal classroom.

Meghan Branks has worked at Beijing City International School (BCIS) for 4 years. She is the student support teacher for grades 1, 2 and 3. During her time at BCIS, Ms. Branks has co-created an after school math program to support students with math needs, hosted both teacher and teaching assistant workshops on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and hosted parent workshops (PAL) on guiding students on self-regulation. Meghan is also the elementary school's lead for the Child Protection and Safety Committee. As a member of the Child Protection Committee, she works with other educators to continuously provide the safest school environment as possible. Ms. Branks is a member of the Special Educators Network in Beijing (SENIB), and has co-hosted two professional development days at BCIS. Prior to coming to Beijing, Ms. Branks worked for the state of Florida, in the United States. She has a MA in Varying Exceptionalities and worked as a special education teacher and Behavior Specialist. During her time as a Behavior Specialist, she managed two behavior units at her elementary school and created one of the first sensory rooms in her county.

Ms. Brown is currently serving as the Early Childhood/Elementary School Counselor at Beijing City International School. In this role Ms. Brown helps to ensure the social and emotional well-being of students from toddlers through fifth grade. Ms. Brown has provided parent, and teacher workshops on various topics that help ensure the students social and emotional well-being within and outside of the school setting. She is the co-advisor for student council in the elementary school; which helps to promote student voice within the school community. Prior to joining Beijing City International School Ms. Brown has served in a variety of roles within the educational sector. She has taught grades 1st-5th as a homeroom teacher, taught learning support for grades 3rd-5th, and served as an elementary school’s intervention coordinator. Ms. Brown has been named educator of the year and served for many years of the Parent Teacher Association President. She has been a teacher/student mentor. Ms. Brown has started and lead various student clubs and activities.

I am a Learning Support Specialist serving at Bingham Academy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I have been teaching and supporting students at Bingham Academy for two years. I have a dual degree in both Elementary and Special Education from The University of South Alabama. I have undergone additional extensive training on working with students with Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Executive Dysfunction. At Bingham I also oversee academic assessments and access arrangements throughout the school.

Ben Hacking is the Primary Deputy Principal at Vienna International School. Ben is passionate about student well being and ensuring every student meets their individual mark in school. His focus has been on developing and implementing a progressive discipline framework and primary student support team. Ben believes effective collaboration among all stakeholders in a learning community will lead to optimal results for all students.

Claudine Hakim is Head of Student Support Services for the International School of London (ISL) UK schools. She joined ISL Surrey in 2009 as one of the founding Heads and is the leader of the award winning Crossroads Transitions programme. Claudine is also the Head of Admissions and External Relations.

Having lived in 3 continents, Claudine is passionate about fostering well-balanced and inclusive international communities. She was a Governor, Head Teacher of a Special Needs School and Special Needs Consultant. Claudine is a member of the ECIS Admissions Special Interest Committee and a Board member of Safe Passage Across Networks.

Claudine holds a Masters degree from the University College of London, Institute of Education in Educational Leadership and Management and an BA in Psychology and Counselling from Richmond International University.

Amy is a Canadian who moved to the UK to pursue her dream of spreading the word globally on using the rekenrek. She has been a Primary teacher for 17 years in Canada as well as at an International school in the Netherlands. She has a Masters degree in Education and has taught Bachelor of Education maths courses at Acadia University. Amy is an author, presenter, primary maths specialist, SLE and university professor. She has an infectious passion and enthusiasm for teaching and will keep you engaged and entertained throughout the presentation.

Rachel is a Senior Leader at The British School in the Netherlands who firmly believes learning changes lives and mindsets. An education leader with twenty years international experience working with students and adults, she currently shares responsibility for leading a vibrant junior school community in The Hague. Rachel is a Founding Fellow at The Chartered College of Teaching and EdTech specialist whose work is underpinned by a strong interest in the opportunities education presents to develop curiosity and positive behaviours.

Lauren Ivery is currently the SENCo at The International School of London and is responsible for overseeing the provision for all students with additional learning needs from 3-18 years old. Lauren recently completed a Masters in Education (Special) where her major focused on the emotional well-being of students with specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia. This is an area she feels passionate about as she understands the importance of well-being on student's academic and emotional development. Lauren is an experienced educator and after completing her teacher training in Australia, has been working exclusively with SEN and EAL students. She has experience working in Australia, Denmark and the UK and has been working at international schools for over 4 years. Her roles have been varied and she has experience within the classroom, as well as the strategic development of SEN departments.

Niki Kitsiou is a Primary Teacher, specialized in Special Education and Language Education for Refugees and Migrants. She graduated from the University of Crete, in Greece, with a degree in Primary Education, while later on she completed an Expertise Program in Special Education, in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. For the past 2 years, Niki is working as a shadow teacher at the American Community Schools of Athens, Greece, while at the same time she is working towards her postgraduate degree from the Hellenic Open University, in Language Education for Refugees and Migrants. Her philosophy as a teacher is to guide the students learn to think critically, work collaboratively and act boldly. Niki tries to listen to each student needs, ways of learning and creating, as well as to guide them in order to blossom; through creating supportive and thoughtfully prepared environments, that value the human spirit and the physical, emotional, social and cognitive development of each student; environments, where children are supported in becoming active seekers of knowledge, provided by the freedom and the tools to pursue answers to their own questions, approaching matters critically. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing and painting.

Shannon Leoni (pronouns: she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker, currently working as a Social and Emotional Counselor at the International School of Brussels. She works individually with adolescents, leads group counseling sessions for LGBTQ and questioning students, supervises the school’s GSA club, and designs the inclusive and comprehensive sexual education unit in the high school. Shannon holds a Master of Social Work degree from Boston College, and has previously worked as a community health educator in Boston. Her focus is on creating safer spaces in schools for gender and sexual minority students, and she works with students to create peer-to-peer educational opportunities to foster inclusion and acceptance. Shannon is currently working with other Brussels international schools to create safer spaces for LGBTQ adolescents.

Diane Lutz: Educator at the International School of Florence for for 28 years, and a second grade teacher and reading specialist, she has spent years studying different programs to effectively teach reading and reading intervention. She has had various experiences in training for early literacy intervention. She is currently participating in a Special Needs Certificate Program and the ISF Leading Edge Learning research project for developing early literacy.

M.Ed (Inclusion Education K-12), M.A. (International Development), Dipl. Ed (Primary Yr1-8), Grad. Cert. (Inclusion Education) David is currently employed as the Instructional Coach for Elementary Mathematics at the International School of Düsseldorf, Germany. His passion and expertise for elementary mathematics has lead him to develop his own specialist Tier 2 Intervention Program for Elementary Students in an International School Context. David also regularly shares his expertise and passion with interventions and Elementary Mathematics as an independent Elementary School Mathematics Consultant, as well as a Numicon Accredited workshop trainer and consultant. He has delivered full day training workshops to more than a 20 international Schools in the last 3 years primarily in Western Europe. Prior to specialising as an Instructional Coach and Inclusion Education facilitator, he was a PYP core teacher (Primarily upper elementary) and a specialist in K-12 inclusion education teacher. He is particularly interested the cognitive psychology and neuroscience of how students learn, and how to support a wider student population.

Zainab started her career working in a pediatric clinic in Dubai as a clinical psychologist. She then moved into a school setting where she took on the role of a school counsellor and has since worked in the field of educational psychology for over 10 years in different multicultural settings spanning from Dubai to Australia, and now in Germany. After her BRIEF training in London, she has adopted the solution-focused approach in her meeting with parents, students and staff at the International School of Stuttgart. She believes that this approach is simple to understand, applicable in any setting and can be effective in a short period of time. A big fan of the quote “Why fit in, when you were born to stand out”, she is now convinced that the solution-focused approach ‘stands out’ from its contemporaries in a unique way.

Natalia Maravegias was born in Athens, Greece and is an alumna of ACS Athens. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from the American College of Greece, where during her senior year she worked as a Lab Assistant for the Psychology Department. She holds a Master of Science in Health Psychology from the University of Nottingham, UK. Currently, she is a member of the British Psychological Society. This year she will be completing a four-year program in Rational-Emotive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This will be her third year working in the Educational and Diagnostic Testing Center as a trained Diagnostician. The first two years she worked as an assistant and this year she will be the Educational and Diagnostic Testing Center Coordinator. In the past, she worked as a Shadow Teacher at ACS Athens, for two academic school years, 2013-2015.

Patrick is the resident Education Technology champion at Texthelp. A passionate educator, Patrick is an accomplished international speaker focusing on engaging sessions on how technology can make a real and meaningful impact on teaching and learning for all, with
a particular focus on inclusion.

An Apple Education Mentor and Google Certified Educator, Patrick received the UK Digital Leader 100 award in 2016 and is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Ulster (School of Education). He’s worked with thousands of schools on areas such as literacy,inclusion, educational vision and planning, leadership, and change management.

Most of all though, he loves to get practical and support teachers with the knowledge and skills around tech tools that are transformative yet easy to use!

Emily Meadows (pronouns: she/her) is a professional school counselor who has supported children and their families in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. She researches educational policy and practice impacting gender and sexual minority youth as a doctoral student at Lehigh University, and works as a teaching assistant for the LGBT Health Policy & Practice graduate program at the George Washington University. Emily holds master’s degrees in Sexual Health and in International Counseling, and has designed curriculum for graduate-level courses in related fields. Her work advocates for students, regardless of gender, sexuality, or locale, to have access to protections, rights, and opportunities at school. Having spent more than half of her life overseas, Emily specializes in culturally-relevant ways to improve the school experience for gender and sexual minority students worldwide, and runs a private consulting practice based in the Netherlands for international educators and policy-makers. She has written a book chapter for the American Psychological Association on the topic of GSM inclusion in socially conservative contexts, and has also written a chapter for the 2019 Comparative & International Education Review on educators as GSM allies in conservative contexts worldwide (both in publication). Please see Emily's attached CV for a more complete biography. Emily and Shannon both presented on the topic of gender and sexual minority inclusion in international schools at the International School Counselor Association 2019 Annual Conference. The presentations were well-attended, earning appreciative feedback from participants on the anonymous post-session surveys. A small sample of attendees’ responses follow below: “Great session that had me think so much! I needed hours with you!” “Fantastic facilitator! Broke things down for everyone and kept it interactive, felt very approachable.” “Great conference and discussions! Difficult topic sometimes. Very informative and eye-opening. It feels very good to listen to someone who knows what she is talking about! Very inspiring!” “Appreciated the interactive nature of the session and the modelling of activities that one could use with students and staff” “Brilliant. Pertinent, applicable, appropriate, engaging, and informative.”

Barry Morrissey is Assistant Principal in Scoil na Na Naomh Uilig – a large primary school with mainstream and special classes in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland. He has taught in both mainstream and special education settings for many years, and has extensive experience in working with children with special educational needs - in particular those with physical disabilities. At present he is completing his Doctorate (Inclusion and Special Education) at the Institute of Education in Dublin City University. He is currently seconded from his teaching position to a national teacher support programme in Ireland.

Danai Papaioannou earned her Bachelor's degree in Greek language and literature from the University of Athens. Upon the completion of her studies, she enrolled in a one-year program at the same university, which resulted in a certificate in Special Education, seeking to gain deeper knowledge in inclusive practices. Ms. Papaioannou also completed extensive training in Mindfulness, as she firmly believes that training our attention to experience the present moment with greater curiosity and kindness helps to provide new possibilities to identify and overcome difficulties. In August 2018, she finished a Master's degree on Psychology and Neuroscience of Mental Health from King's College London.

Ms. Papaioannou has been a member of ACS Athens since 2015 and this year is the Academy/ Middle School OLP Specialist, supporting students to develop their talents and build collaborative relationships in their learning environment.

Jalak began her career in the education sector in 2001 as a primary school teacher. After qualifying as an Educational Psychologist in 2005, she worked in the UK for seven years before moving to Hong Kong to take up a post with the English Schools Foundation (ESF). While working for ESF, Jalak provided school-based educational psychology services as well as providing private assessment and consultation to meet the needs of the wider Hong Kong community. She also supported ESF staff and schools through her role as Foundation Advisor for SEN Training and Development.

Since joining Real Group in 2017, Jalak has further developed her interest in SEN training. She is an online tutor for many of Real Training’s masters-level courses and a well-regarded facilitator of Real Training’s face-to-face intensive Certificate of Competence in Education Testing qualification. She has delivered lectures and workshops at higher education institutes such as the University of Greenwich and the Tavistock and Portman Clinic. Jalak is an experienced conference speaker, having delivered seminars and workshops in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and the UK.

Jalak continues to work closely with UK and international schools to provide consultation, assessment and written reports in relation to individual students’ psycho-educational needs.

Jalak’s special interests include:

Early Brain Development
The Relationship between Social Challenges and Academic Achievement
Psychology in the Classroom
Attachment Relationships and Classroom Behaviour

Dr. Peggy Pelonis was raised in Los Angeles, California. She earned a Doctorate degree in Education from the University of Bath, UK, an M.Sc. degree in Counseling and School Psychology from California State University, Fullerton (where she also received two awards for Outstanding Student and Outstanding Research), an Executive M.B.A. from the University of Indianapolis and a B.S. in English Literature and Psychology from the American College of Greece. Dr. Pelonis is Vice President at the American Community Schools of Athens, Greece. is a Licensed Psychotherapist and holds School Counseling Certification from the State of California. As well, she is a National Certified Psychologist and holds a diploma in Clinical Hypnosis. Dr. Pelonis was on the staff of Cal State University Fullerton as well as the University of LaVerne teaching in the Master’s Psychology program, she was on the staff of the Adlerian Training Institute, USA and is currently on the staff of ICASSI (International Committee of Adlerian Summer Schools and Institutes). She is Chair of the Special Interest Group of the European Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS) and works with Middle States Association (MSA) as a team member for school accreditation.An active leadership and personal and professional growth coach and trainer and a trainer of school leadership and transformation, Dr. Pelonis conducts workshops in Europe, the Middle East and the USA. She was founder of ISOS Counseling and Educational Center and continues to conduct workshops and groups on Change and is a frequent lecturer at conferences as well as an invited speaker on various TV and radio programs. Her work on Coping with Change, Resilience as well as on Leadership in Education and Educational Transformation has been cited in journals, magazines and books. She is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters and magazine & newspaper articles, as well as two books: "Change in the journey of life" Fytraki publications Athens, 2001 and "Yparho Allazo" I Exist, I Change) Isorropon publications, Athens 2006. Her Doctoral work involved international schools from around the world examining the views of Heads of Schools and Principals regarding professional development in such schools.

Paul R. Rasmussen, PhD is staff psychologist for the WJB Dorn Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Columbia, SC. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina and Columbia College. Prior to joining the VAMC, he was core faculty at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago and director of the Adler Child-Guidance Center. He is a diplomate in Adlerian Psychology and the author of Personality Guided Cognitive Behavior Therapy, coeditor of Competition: A Multidisciplinary Analysis, and author of The Quest to Feel Good.

As an educational consultant and focus my time working with families that have children with special needs and are planning a relocation to an expat location or to the United States. Originally from Iowa, I have lived and worked in four US states and two European countries. My experience in Special Education spans more than two decades. During this time, I have been fortunate to work together with children with disabilities, their teachers, and their families in defining plans and strategies to create positive and constructive learning environments. I double-majored in Special Education and Elementary Education at Luther College, and earned a Master’s of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Exceptional Education. I have experience in the public, private and international school environments in general education, learning support and intensive needs roles. My experiences from around the world as a teacher and a mother of a third culture kid make me uniquely suited to help families who have children with special needs when they are moving schools.

Ceri is an experienced Educational Psychologist and teacher with over 20-years experience working with children, young people, teachers, and parents. Ceri has worked as a School Psychologist in international schools and as an Educational Psychologist and Special Education Advisor for the New Zealand Ministry of Education. Ceri qualified as an Educational Psychologist in New Zealand, her first degree is in Neurobiology and she is a qualified science teacher. Ceri has additional qualifications in psychotherapy and she has a special interest in the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and narrative approaches to support school systems and individual wellbeing.

Mary Rose: Educator at ISF and the U.S.A, has taught grades PS through 4 th grade has been a
mentor and teacher in the teaching of reading and writing for students grades PS through 4 th ,
internationally and in the U.S.A. She has a strong belief and passion for the implementation early
literacy programs in early childhood. She is currently part of the ISF Leading Edge Learning research project for developing early literacy.

Dr Duncan Rollo has served as university vice president, headmaster, visiting lecturer at the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, academic dean and director of writing. He also spent a decade with the US Government where he held diplomatic status. Dr Rollo is the co-author of three books and various articles on education and other topics. For the last 15 years, he has devoted his professional life to special needs education, and in this role has led the Centre Academy Schools, London and East Anglia, as Principal and CEO of both. The Centre Academy Schools have been termed “the most unique and successful special needs schools in the UK,” because of their innovative curriculum and the success of their students in gaining admission to university and college.

Mrs Kim Salthouse has devoted her professional life to special needs education. The Head of Centre Academy East Anglia since 2010, she has been instrumental in creating an innovative curriculum and support programme designed to enable SEN children to go on to various forms of higher education. Prior to becoming Head of School, Mrs Salthouse created and directed reading programmes, served as SENCo and Senior Teacher, sponsored an advice centre for parents of SEN children and developed curricula and assessment methods for children facing a variety of learning challenges. A specialist in dyslexia, Mrs Salthouse directs an extensive SEN programme at Centre Academy that addresses many learning challenges, including ASD, Asperger’s Syndrome, AD/HD and extreme anxiety.

Mel Schmitz has been an Educational Psychologist for the last 15 years, and has had the opportunity to learn from a variety of interesting cases during this time, having worked in a hospital, a neuropsychiatric unit, several schools as well as running her own private consulting practice. She is an avid fan of the Solution-Focused approach and finds it refreshing to not be seen as the ‘expert’ in the room. She has 2 kids (and 291 more at school) and believes with all her heart that children are much more skilled at solution-building than we adults sometimes give them credit for. Mel comes from Malaysia, and enjoys conversations about new ways of thinking about things, educational reform, parenting hacks, and of course (like pretty much all of her countrymen) FOOD.

Anna Rose Sugarman is a specialist in educating the gifted. Since 1998, she has provided training and consultant services through international conferences and in international schools around the world. While actively working with administrators, teachers, parents and students, Anna designs and implements professional development options to create optimal learning environments to enhance educational programming for all children. Anna served twelve years as an Associate Member of the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth to the Office of Overseas Schools, US Department of State. She currently works as a Professional Development Trainer/Coordinator (K-12) for Shenendehowa Central Schools in Clifton Park, New York.

Dandan Sui is from Harbin City which is located in the northeast of China. After earning her Bachelor’s degree, she began her career in education in Beijing in 2004 as an English language teacher. Dandan has also worked as Director of International Department in two Chinese local schools. In 2010-2011, she had the opportunity to work for Chaoyang School District in Beijing as Program Officer and oversaw 300 public and private schools in international education. In 2012, she went to England to work in a grammar school as a Chinese Language teacher, and in 2013 she served Beijing City International School (BCIS) as a Chinese Language .

Dandan joined Yuecheng Education Research Institute (YERI) which is the research research and development center of BCIS and has been served as Project Manager since 2015. YERI provides professional development and learning opportunities with a focus on modernizing the traditional classroom. The variety of cross cultural working experiences shape who she is today. Her goal is to create a dynamic and robust learning and working environment between local and international communities.

My name is Evi Takopoulou and I am an Educational Psychologist, Counsellor and CBT Psychotherapist. I hold an HCPC (Health Care and Professions Council, UK) registration as an Educational Psychologists and a Counsellor and BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) accreditation. I studied Psychology in the University of Athens and I completed my Masters in Psychotherapy. From an early stage, education was my core interest, so I was involved in Special Education administrating assessments and later providing interventions. Soon, I became an Educational Psychologist and worked closely with schools and teachers to make sure that all the students have access to the curriculum and their learning is facilitated through specific techniques and interventions.
I came to London and I became the SENCO at the International Community School 6 years ago. At ICS we use the co-teaching model through out the years having as our priority students' progress and learning. I strongly believe that learning transform lives and it is our duty to work as a team to this direction.

Mr. Tapia works at Beijing City International School providing Learning Support Services for grades 3 through 5. He has lead and co-lead multiple job-alike meetings and professional development for teachers, staff, parents and the learning community. This year he collaborated with older students from the Secondary School to provide a computer based tutoring program to help younger students who are struggling in Mathematics. Prior to this Mr. Tapia worked in Public Schools in Southern California for the past 9 years. One particular school, he ran a self-contained Autism program (Moderate-Severe Disabilities). This model classroom served as a learning lab for other teachers to learn more about Applied Behavior Analysis and strategies proven to be effective for students on the Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Lisa R Tucci (USA) is Italy Program Director for Quantum Learning Network USA and founder of TestaAlta.org - an agency providing educational services and career coaching to kids in Europe. After moving to Italy, Lisa found her passion in developing engaging experiences thru new tech, multimedia, storytelling & touring exhibitions. Working with Italy's museums and cultural sites as an Edutainment provider, she was at the forefront of learning engagement in Italy. After pioneering audioguides to Italy’s most remarkable places, she was the first to bring to Italy, interactive exhibitions for STEM Learning to kids from 3 to 93.  In 2015, Tucci continued her journey toward improving kids’ lives by bringing 21st century Life Skills & Lifelong Learning to families & schools in Europe thru SuperCamp Italy / Quantum Learning (37 years strong). They combine the latest in brain research with intense interaction to increase grades, confidence & motivation - an Excel-lence Experience. SuperCamp Italy's Teen (& Tween!) Success Summit hosts students from across the educational spectrum and from dozens of countries at their Dolomites campus. For younger kids, Arte al Sole programs bring Family Tours & Art workshops and cultural day camps for kids 6-13 -– introducing them to all the wonders of Italy in cities across the boot. Lisa is working on bringing the foundational core values – the 8 Keys of Excellence - to companies & communities in Europe, through inspiring people to start their own Communities of Excellence programs.  SuperCampItaly.com • ArtealSole.com • www.qln.com • testaalta.org

Alexandra Valtzidou was raised in Brisbane, Australia. Ms Valtzidou holds a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from University of Queensland, a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Science from Queensland University of Technology, a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education and Rehabilitation from University of Macedonia, and a MSc in Special Education, majoring in Learning Difficulties and Bilingual Special Education from University of Macedonia. Ms Valtzidou holds various certificates, including certificates for teaching English as a Second Language to students. She is also a member of NASET, the American National Association of Special Education Teachers, and is in the Board of Directors for TESOL Macedonia-Thrace. For the past 8 years, she has worked as a private tutor for children with learning differences supporting them in their elementary and middle school subjects, and as an ESL tutor. Additionally, Ms Valtzidou has worked as the lead Special Educator in Greek public schools. She has been employed at Pinewood for the last 4 years, serving both as an elementary teacher and as the learning specialist. Furthermore, she has also completed a 6-month training internship at a diagnostic facility in Greece, training in conducting psycho-educational assessments, standardized diagnostic tests, and standard-based academic assessments, and is currently part of a psycho-educational diagnostic team for bilingual children. Over the past four years, Ms Valtzidou has presented in numerous international conferences around the world.

Lisa Westman is a writer, speaker, and consultant who works with school systems internationally to implement student-driven differentiation, standards-based grading, and instructional-coaching programs. She has over 16 years of experience as an instructional coach specializing in differentiation, and as a teacher of gifted education, English Language Arts, and social studies. She is the author of Student-Driven Differentiation: 8 Steps to Harmonize Learning in the Classroom (Corwin) and is a frequent opinion contributor for publications including Education Week, Education Week Teacher, and edutopia.

Chad Wood (M.Ed.) is the Learning Support Department Leader at Vienna International School. Before working in Vienna, Chad has worked as a special education coordinator and resource teacher at IB schools in China and USA. Chad is passionate about collaboration, and using learning data to drive instruction in the general classroom and learning support lessons. His focus in the last couple years has been on early intervention, implementing the Primary Student Support Team, and providing targeted learning interventions in a tiered model of support for students to ensure they do not fall through the ‘gaps’ in their learning.